Saris rack worth it?

I’ve read good reviews on Saris right here on this board. But I’ve yet to see one on a car.



There’s only one dealer in my area (north west CT) quite a distance away. And they don’t even stock the rack. The only reason they’re listed as a dealer is because they carry the Saris trunk-mounted bike racks (it’s a bike shop instead of a kayak shop or rack shop).



Is it worth the hassle or should I just get a Thule like everyone else?






Everyone dosen’t
get Thule’s, there are some of us with Yakima’s :slight_smile:

@
I like my saris rack just fine but have not used it long. They are not nearly as widespread as thule or yakima though so finding parts without mail order isn’t going to happen probably.

I didn’t like the one I had
I returned it and bought a Thule…Yakima’s good too, if you don’t mind your accessories spinning around on the bars and looking crooked all the time!

Buy Cheap
I bought a Yakima because they come on and off easy…all racks are on the hot list for stolen property.



People trust the locks …thieves walk up and in 1 minute pop the locks and are gone.



I hide mine in my trunk when I am on the water. I wish I had bought the cheapest one, thinking the locks actually locked something. I would not leave my on the car anywhere.



I have been in parking lots where people leave their land sharks and other simply bolted attachments on the racks. Gone in the blink of an eye.



Sad that someone is that bored =(

???Stolen Rack Bits???

– Last Updated: Jun-21-06 10:10 PM EST –

Man, I have lived and traveled in some extremely high crime rate areas. My truck has been broken into 8 times. Never once have I had thieves take my racks nor ever mess with the boats on them.

I have howver had the following items stole:

2 VHF Radios

Multiple dry boxes

3 Spare Tires

Mutiple items of GoreTex paddle wear (later recovered from a nearby crack house)

3 broken drivers side widows (until I figured out the trick of leaving the doors unlocked and windows slightly open)

2 CD Players



I'm not saying that a rack has never been stolen, but I can't fathom being scared enough to take the rack off the car while I paddled.

Where do the thieves fence the stolen Yakima Racks?

Yes
They are easily worth 2x the other crossbars.



Saddles a re bit different - but work very well for side or end loading and are the kindest to the boats I’ve seen yet.



Buy online. “Dealer” would be unlikely - and even if you find one they will just order online anyway.



Rack preference depends a bit on vehicle type. For the small car I used mine on the Saris was great. Al vehicles differ, but if they list a solution it should be OK.



Maybe go with something else if you have a truck/monster SUV/Van or some other poor choice for roof loading! Ugly thin bar racks systems like Thule and Yakima look OK on those - and you might want a set of those hull denting and scratch inducing rollers or overly rigid saddles they sell. L



People who say Thule or Yakima are “fast” to put on/take off have obviously never owned a Saris.



Easy to adapt other’s hardware to the Saris slot system too.



They all make good racks. Saris just offers something on a different level of form and function.

Thule
I’ve owned Thule, Yakima, and Saris. To me they were all good and all functioned well. The determining factor in every instance I purchased a rack were things like price and availability for the model of vehicle I had. Of course I’m only transporting canoes, so if you’re doing a kayak, bikes, or something else that you need add-on for, take that into consideration as well.



So, get what is available and at a good price. In your case that sounds like the thule.

Absolutely!
I’ve owned Thule racks and installed Yakimas, and the Saris is much better than either. It goes on and off quickly and easily and it’s very rugged. The T-slot system allows you to easily make custom accessories for it and/or adapt other manufacturer’s accessories to fit.

heh
I have thule racks and i sprung for the locks on my towers. I live in the NYC area and am frequently parked in brooklyn, harlem and elsewhere in Manhattan. My thule racks are on a honda civic (the most stolen car in america). So I guess that makes me either extremely lucky or extremely stupid. :slight_smile:

yes.
best racks for virtually every reason imaginable. i like their kayak cradles as well.

Yes, for all the reasons listed above